The History of Easter Traditions

What do eggs, rabbit breeding schedules, and a fertility goddess named Eostre have in common? Theyre all tied to popular Easter traditions! Learn the surprising past behind your favorite ways to celebrate.

Easter Eggs

From colored eggs to chocolate eggs to egg hunts, nothing says “Easter” like the incredible edible. Yet our modern take on collecting, dying, and decorating eggs comes from a tradition dating back thousands of years, long before the time of Jesus Christ.

Many ancient cultures, including the Greeks and Egyptians, saw eggs as a sign of fertility and new life; they used eggs in religious rituals and hung them in pagan temples for mystical purposes, says Martha Zimmerman in her book Celebrating the Christian Year.

Later, as Christian missionaries observed community members hunting for eggs in spring, they began using the food as a tool to describe Christ’s new birth in resurrection. “They would dye the eggs based on what colors meant to the church: yellow for resurrection, blue for love, red for the blood of Christ. Or, they would paint various scenes from the Bible on eggs and hide them; the child who found the egg would come back and tell the story painted on that egg,” says Collins.

More games with eggs soon followed — egg rolls and egg relays — mostly as a way to draw children into an otherwise serious religious celebration. Closer to home, the tradition continues: The White House Egg Roll will celebrate its 135th anniversary this year.

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